General Assembly overrides Rell's Stamford train station veto

Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer

Published 9:06 pm, Monday, June 21, 2010

HARTFORD -- The General Assembly on Monday stopped Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration from moving ahead with a plan to delay rebuilding the Stamford train station garage and instead constructing 800 new commuter parking spaces at a nearby redevelopment.

Legislators overrode Rell's veto of a bill, passed during the regular 2010 session, preventing her from funding the new parking by diverting $35 million previously set aside to overhaul the train station garage.

"Everybody understood that her proposal was incomplete and unfunded," state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, said afterward.

But during an interview last week, state Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie urged the General Assembly to support Rell's veto, arguing it was in the best interests of Stamford and commuters.

"If this override passes, we are going to have to go back to square one. It's going to cost us time, and time is money," Marie said Thursday. "We have to spend more of our resources finding solutions. But we've looked at all of them. And if we look at them six months or a year from now, this is the best deal we'll come up with." Although the Legislature authorized borrowing $35 million to rebuild the deteriorating, 700-space garage, there have been questions about how that would be done without displacing commuters.

Rell and Marie thought they had found an ideal solution when, in April, they proposed first working with an unidentified developer to erect a new parking structure nearby and eventually tackling the existing garage.

But Stamford legislators were frustrated with the lack of details. And with Rell stepping down, and her replacement facing an estimated $3 billion deficit, they also feared there will be no money to build two garages.

During the final days of the session in early May, the Stamford delegation amended a larger transportation bill to block the DOT's use of the $35 million for Rell's alternative. That amended bill was passed unanimously.

"No one knew who the developer was, what the project was," state Rep. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, said Monday.

It was only last Thursday that Marie confirmed the state is in negotiations to build and own 800 spaces of a 1,000-plus garage proposed for a mixed-use development at 650 Atlantic St., located about 1 1/2 blocks from the train station.

"We would enter into what we're calling a condominium type arraignment. There are operations and maintenance and upkeep costs. It's a little unusual. It's a little bit creative," Marie said. "And ultimately when we tear down (the old garage) and rebuild, we'll have additional spots and that's really good news for Stamford and our commuters."

The House overrode Rell's veto in a 138-to-0 vote. But the Senate's 25-to-11 vote was mainly along party lines, with Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, and Sens. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton and L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, supporting the governor and the DOT.

McKinney said Rell's plan was not perfect "but it is the better solution" and would have at least allowed progress on the parking issues at the Stamford train station.

McKinney also argued his colleagues should have confidence Rell's replacement would have found the money to move forward on the old parking garage.

He noted four of the gubernatorial candidates are from lower Fairfield County and understand the region's transportation issues -- Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, a Republican from Stamford, former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Tom Foley, both Greenwich businessmen.

And McKinney added that the fifth candidate -- Republican Oz Griebel of Simsbury -- was former chairman of the state Transportation Strategy Board.

"I would argue the people of Stamford and commuters are in pretty good hands," McKinney said.

McDonald said had Rell truly been committed to her overall plan for two garages "she would have asked for $50 million in additional funding to deliver on her promise. She never came forward with such a proposal and it would have seriously jeopardized the future development of the transportation center, our downtown and the South End."

Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia, who appeared at a press conference with Rell in April in Stamford where she announced the plan to use the $35 million to build the Atlantic Street garage before replacing the 800-space garage, could not be reached for comment.

At the time, Pavia said he was confident the state would follow through on the promise to replace the structurally deficient garage as well as add nearly 1,000 spaces.

"We've gotten the green light to go ahead and replace this, and when it is done with, it will add a whole new dimension to the station," Pavia said in April.

Jeffrey Maron, a member of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, which advocates for rail commuters, said he approved of the decision to override the veto, given the state hadn't secured funding to complete both the Atlantic Street garage and the replacement garage on the existing site.

The state should also publicly explain its plan to resolve traffic flow problems coming and going from the current garage site before spending money to build a new garage at 650 Atlantic St., Maron said.

"Every commuter I speak with says the same thing: We need parking at the garage and not blocks away," he said. "Since the DOT wasn't able to commit to building both structures I am fully in favor of stopping to figure out what their plans are for the existing site."